After the Summer
by LibertyBell.047
Summary: Ten years ago, they lost Natsu after the battle on Tenrou Island. But they couldn't believe he died and never stopped searching for him. Now, Lucy is back from her travels around the world with news that could help them but strangely enough, she isn't alone anymore...
1. Ch1: The new fashion trend

My first Fairy Tail fanfic..

Follows cannon up to chapter 252-253, AU after that.

Sorry if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, english is not my mother tongue, but I'm trying:)

Anyway, on with the story.

* * *

**Chapter 1****: ****The new fashion trend**

**Year X794**

Magnolia town was always much quieter the day after the Sakura viewing party a dark haired man mused. Leaning on the rail board of a bridge, he was watching the boats while waiting for his companion to arrive.

A chuckle pulled him out him out of his daydreams. Two young ladies were crossing the bridge, laughing as they passed behind him.

"_What's so funny_?" He wondered.

Another woman answered his silent question. "Gray-sama, your clothes."

"Oh Juvia, you're here." Then he realized. "Argh! When did I take them off?!"

The blue haired mage chuckled. "You never change Gray-sama." She said as she handed him a white short-sleeved shirt and a dark jacket.

"You're the one to talk." Gray replied playfully, now properly dressed. He took her hand as they walked off the bridge.

The two of them made quite a dashing pair in the streets of Magnolia. Him in his usual but fitting black leather attire and her, in her clear blue dress with white trimmings. Her hair was let down, slightly curled under her shoulders and a cloche hat, present from Gray, was covering her head.

"Still calling me Gray-sama after all these years." He continued. "I don't mind when we're at the guild, they're used to it. But it's a bit weird in front of other people."

"But... but..."

"And still blushing. Honestly, how old are you?"

River of tears flowed down Juvia's cheeks. "Twenty eight next month, Gray-sama. You don't have to remind me."

Gray noticed the clouds starting to appear above their heads and decided he should better close the dam. "Oi oi, don't cry. Twenty eight is not old, besides you're as beautiful as you were at eighteen."

"Really?" A teary Juvia asked.

"Yes, really." He assured her, smiling at her antics. "Now, if we don't hurry the shops are going to close."

"Oh no, let's go Gray-sama!"

The ice mage shook his head as she started to pull him along. "Stubborn woman."

He picked up the pace to follow her but as they turned at a corner, they suddenly bumped into somebody.

"Ow!"

The mages had run into two children and one of them had been thrown backwards.

"Sorry kid, you okay?" Gray held his hand to help him but the boy quickly snapped it away and jumped back on his feet.

"Hey stop there!"

Surprised by the shout, the two mages looked around and saw a cloaked person running at them. "Stop that thief!"

Gray saw a worried look appear on the kid's face and caught sight of the pouch he was holding. Reacting quickly, he grabbed him by the collar before he could escape.

"Hold on kid."

"Let me go!" The brat struggled to get free but the ice mage's grip was too strong for him. "Damn it! Hey, run!" He shouted to his partner before throwing him the pouch.

The other brat clumsily picked up their rapt and started to run. "I'll get him, Gray-sama." Juvia said. But as she raised her hand to take control of the river's water, a loud yell erupted behind them.

"I said STOP!"

A dark blur shot between them and struck the boy's feet, making him fall flat on his face. His partner threw the pouch away and helped him to detangle his feet from the whip's rope. "Forget it!" As soon as he was freed, the little thief grabbed his partner's arm and fled from the scene, leaving his loot behind him.

Letting them go, Gray picked up the pouch and gave it back to its rightful owner. "I believe it's yours." He said as the cloaked teen stopped in front of them.

"Yes! Thank you very much for your help mister and miss!" She said as she took it back, bowing several times. They couldn't really see her face under the hood except a few strands of blond hair. "C-Could you please tell me the way to Magnolia Park?"

Juvia kindly gave her the indications she needed, inwardly flattered at being called 'miss'. The teen thanked her again and then walked away after making sure her pouch was correctly secured at her belt.

"What a polite young girl." Juvia said as she watched her leave.

Gray nodded; still a bit surprised by the peculiar display of skill this little girl had showed. Her flashy but shy behaviour reminded him a lot of their daughter. She was usually very polite and reserved, but it didn't take much to set her off, and the tantrums which followed were worth those of a rich spoiled kid. A powerful and dangerous spoiled kid...

Letting out a sigh, he took again Juvia's hand and the two mages went on their way downtown.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

Two hour later, arms full of bags and legs tired of walking around, the two mages headed back to the guild. "I hope we didn't forget anything." Juvia said, looking at the bags. "Otherwise Wendy-chan will scold us again."

"Yeah, that little brat can be downright scary when she wants to."

"And poor Romeo-kun knows it better than us." Juvia added with a chuckle.

Everybody in Fairy Tail, Wendy included, knew the boy was desperately in love with the Sky Dragonslayer. His poor attempts to confess were ignored one after the other and made the guild's daily comic show.

They continued to chat about the youngsters of Fairy Tail but after a few minutes, Juvia sensed her partner was distracted by something else. She saw him gaze at the other river bank, and more particularly, at a certain pair of window.

"That's Lucy-san's apartment isn't it?" She said quietly.

"Yeah." Nothing more was said. They both knew what the other was thinking.

They had all thought the battle at Tenrou island was over after the defeat of master Hades and the mages of Grimoire Heart. Makarov had announced the suspension of the S-class exam, wishing for everybody to recover from their fights, when it had attacked.

Acnologia, the black dragon.

Their master had tried to hold him back for a few moments but none of his children would have ever abandoned him there. Of course, they were no match against the dark monster and would have been exterminated if Zeref had not stumbled on the battlefield. For a short moment, it seemed he was another person, and with Nastu's help, he had even stopped Acnologia from wrecking their island. But it hadn't last, and when the dragon roared his most powerful attack, the two mages had found themselves defenceless on the frontlines and had been erased from the surface of the earth with half of the island.

The disappearance of Natsu hit them hard. Lucy more than anybody else, except maybe Happy. The stellar mage and the fire dragonslayer had started dating shortly after their return from Edolas. The news -proudly announced against their will by an excited Mirajane- had not surprised anyone. In fact, and much to Natsu and Lucy's embarrassment, most of the guild believed they were already a couple.

Of course, in the following months, all the members of Fairy Tail had searched for him during their missions. Some of them still were, asking their clients if a certain pink haired fire breathing mage had been seen. But the answers had always been negative.

Two weeks after the battle, Gray, Erza, Lucy, Wendy and the two cats had left for a joined mission. But on the way back to Magnolia, the blond stellar mage had suddenly announced her departure. She wanted to leave the town and travel around to find their friend. Happy and Erza had been the first ones to protest and then say they would go with her. But Lucy had firmly held her ground. She wanted to travel alone, see the world for herself. Besides, she added, there was a chance Natsu would come back to the guild, so somebody had to wait for him.

So they stayed, and ten years later, they were still waiting for their friends to come back.

The two mages passed her windows and continued to walk without looking back. "Her last message was seven months ago, I wonder where she is now." Juvia said as they approached the gates of their guild.

They would sometimes receive letters from the stellar mage whenever she was in a big town. Mainly saying she was alright and had not discovered anything yet.

"Who knows. Maybe she got lost again." The ice mage joked, earning a chuckle from his companion.

"Who got lost?"

Juvia and Gray spun around, startled by this voice. They were met with the dark silhouette of a cloaked woman -what was it with people and cloaks today? A new trend or something?- standing only a few feet away from them. Her eyes were covered by the hood but the sparkle of her golden earrings shone under her blond bangs. A beautiful sapphire was hung on a thin cord around her neck, matching her blue silk top and the long white skirt she was wearing went down to mid-calf.

When Juvia turned, a little box of biscuits fell with the spinning motion and rolled down to the woman's feet. She bent down to pick it up.

"Oh, I love those sweets." She said cheerfully. "Thanks."

Gray grumbled under his breath. Just what he needed, a random stranger picking up Erza's absolute favourite biscuits. The Titania would undoubtedly have their heads if they left it at that. "Sorry, could you give them back?"

"Nope." The woman replied, and neither Juvia nor Gray missed the amused smile that graced her lips.

"Gray-sama kindly asked you." The water mage began in a low voice, and her companion knew what would come next. "You should better do as he says." Water started to bubble around the blue haired woman and she took a threatening step forward.

However, that didn't really seem to impress her opponent. She just shook her head and retorted, "Oh well, if we're into displays of magic, then..." A golden key appeared in her hand, and she held it in a very familiar manner. Juvia stopped dead in her tracks and like Gray, her eyes widened in surprise. "Open: Gate of the Bull. Taurus!"

In a puff of smoke and a loud moo, the terrible fighter spirit appeared. "I'll protect your nice body with my life!"

"L.. Lu.."

"Oh please." The mage huffed, glaring at her spirit as she removed her hood. "Next time I'm calling Gemini."

"LUCY!"

A delighted smile stretched across the stellar mage's face and she waved at them.

"Hi guys, I'm back!"

* * *

Yeah, first chapters are always short... at least, mine are.

Btw, there will be a lot of pairings, and most of them will be established relationships.  
First ones are of course: GrayxJuvia and NatsuxLucy.  
I'm not going to list them now, they will appear soon enough^^

Hope you liked it.


	2. Ch2: Catching up

**Chapter 2****: ****Catching up**

The rambunctious guild of Magnolia had never been so lively, At least not for the last ten years.

When Gray and Juvia had banged the doors open, the mages sitting in the common room had nearly jumped five feet high before being left to gape at the newcomer. Standing between the ice mage and the water elemental, their long lost comrade had gently waved at them, smiling from ear to ear.

"Lucy..."

A petite woman, with light blue hair had walked forward and then glomped her friend as she burst into tears. "You're back!"

And then all hell had broken loose.

A good half an hour later, Lucy still couldn't stop herself from laughing and grinning like mad. She was so happy to be back. While most of the guild members where drinking and partying like there was no tomorrow, Lucy had found a seat near the bar and was now catching up with her close friends.

"Eh? You two got married?"

Levy made the victory sign with one hand, the other holding onto Gajeel's arm. "That's right!" She said happily and elbowed her dragonslayer of a husband when he grunted. The cute bookworm looked a lot more mature than she had ten years ago. Her mid long hair was tied in a messy bun and she was wearing a simple but elegant long sleeve shirt as well as a pair of jeans.

Gajeel seemed to have laid off on the whole dark and frightening appearance. A little bit. His mane of hair was still as wild as ever but aside from the studded boots and leather jacket, his clothes were fairly plain.

They were just so cute together, Lucy thought it was a match made in heaven.

"Wow, married. I would have never g... Hm well, actually it's not that surprising. I already knew you had a thing for Gajeel back then." Lucy replied with a sly smirk. "So tell me, just how did you get together? Did he propose you during a romantic dinner, kneeling, with a beautiful ring? Or did he ask you with a song?"

All the mages around her chuckled and tried to hide their grins as Levy huffed in annoyance. "I wish." She said, crossing her arms. "Can you believe that Lucy? That guy just walked to me one day and said: _Yo shrimp, be my woman_."

Gajeel looked a bit affronted when his wife started to imitate him, squinting her eyes and deepening her voice.

"Re- Really?" Lucy didn't know what was more appalling. The fact that the dragonslayer had proposed in such an unromantic manner, or the fact that Levy had actually accepted.

"Yeah, word for word." The petite mage added. "It was a bit embarrassing at the moment, but now it makes a fun story to tell. The children love to hear it."

"You also have children?"

"Yep. Two little angels."

"More like two little monsters." Gajeel muttered under his breath, earning himself another nudge.

"Oh don't start again. Why don't you go look for them before they try to pull another prank on Master."

The dark haired mage grumbled a bit more but still stood up without too much protest.

"Someone's got him wrapped around her little finger I see." Lucy commented as they watched him leave. Levy blushed a bit, but Cana cut in before she could protest.

"You have no idea! Everyone in the guild is sick of seeing them still act like newlyweds."

"He he, isn't Cana-san saying that because she is jealous?" A sweet voice said teasingly.

The card mage glared at Wendy behind her barrel of alcohol. "You little brat..."

Lucy had to stop her hot headed friend from chasing after the younger girl. Unlike Levi, it seemed that Cana hadn't changed much. Tied on both side of her face, her wavy hair was even longer than before and she wore her usual revealing outfits, a flashy red bikini top and tight beige short pants today. But apparently, it still had to prove useful for catching a boyfriend.

Wendy on the other hand was a whole different person. Gone was the clumsy little girl, the sky dragonslayer had bloomed into a strikingly beautiful young woman. She looked much more assured and confident, but Lucy noticed she had kept her love of long and multi patterned dresses. The one she was wearing now was a patchwork of yellow, green and blue diamonds that looked quite like her old dress from Cait Shelter, only longer.

"So what about you Wendy?" Lucy asked, after Cana had finally calmed down. "I saw Romeo giving you a love-struck glance earlier. Something to share?"

"Hn. I have nothing to say about him." Wendy replied, pouting. "Except that he's a short, annoying and unnerving guy. I wish he would leave me alone."

"Well, I did tell you not to choose him as a partner for the exam." Charle said in her usual matter-of-fact tone.

"The S-class exam?" Lucy asked.

"Yes."

"But he begged me for days!" Wendy protested. "You know I tried to refuse, but he was just so persistent, I couldn't say no."

"And look where it got you." Seeing Lucy's curious glance, the white Exceed offered her a little explanation. "Wendy was selected for the S-class exam last year and she chose Romeo to pair up with her. Unfortunately, they came across her... rival, who actually likes the boy and ended up fighting with each other when they should have been cooperating. That got them eliminated and banned from the exam for two years."

"Oh dear..." It shocked Lucy to think that sweet, cute little Wendy would actually disregard so blatantly the rules. "Her rival you said? Who's that?"

It was Gray who answered her. "Over there at the table. You see that girl with long pink hair? The one who's staring dreamily at Romeo. That's Meredy, Wendy's official rival."

"Meredy? From Grimoire Heart's seven kins of the purgatory, that Meredy?"

"Yes. We thought she had left with Ultear, but about a month later, she came here in Magnolia and asked if she could join Fairy Tail." Juvia said.

"The old man agreed immediately, of course." Gray added. "And since she was so close to Juvia, we decided to adopt her, five years ago."

"So she's your daughter now? Wow, congratulations guys!"

"Thanks Lucy. We'll introduce you to her later. When she stops fluttering her eyelashes at Romeo..." Gray added with a sigh.

His desperate but resigned face made Lucy chuckle. "Sure, I have someone I want to introduce to you as well."

"Really? Who?"

"He he, you'll see." She said, before checking the time. "We agreed to meet at the guild, but he's late, he should already be here. I hope he didn't get lost."

"Speaking of late people, where is Happy, Charle?" Levy asked her. "I thought you left together this afternoon."

"We did. But this idiot said there was a new fish shop on the other side of town and he wanted to visit it no matter what." Charle said disapprovingly. "That baka got lost, without a doub- O-Oi, Wendy!"

The little cat squirmed in her friend's grasp, but Wendy was holding her too tightly. "Come on Charle, you don't have to call him names all the time. We know you love him." She said with a small grin. "Why not try sweetheart? Or darling?"

Charle looked about to protest vehemently, but Lucy beat her to it. "You're together as well?" The stellar mage exclaimed cheerfully. "Congrats!"

The Exceed crossed her arms and looked away, but still managed to utter a small "Thanks."

Lucy smiled indulgently, knowing Charle could be a real tsundere at times. She hadn't changed much. Not that it was entirely surprising, seeing that the Exceed aged more slowly than humans. "By the way, where's Lily? I didn't see him either."

"Oh, he's on his honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?" Lucy repeated, startled. "He got married?"

Levy chuckled. "Yeah, not even two weeks ago. He met this cute kitty one day when he was visiting the exceeds. Her name's Rui, and she's absolutely adorable."

"Wow… I didn't expect that." The stellar mage added after a short pause. Levi and Gajeel getting together had already been a big surprise, but it seemed that everyone else had settle down as well.

"So, what about the others? Anyone else married or engaged?" Lucy inquired, wondering how much her friends' lives had changed.

The mages were more than glad to oblige her. Lucy nearly clapped when she learned that Alzack and Bisca finally came out of their shells (seven years ago) and confessed to each other. They were the most lovey-dovey couple of the guild and they even had a daughter now.

None of the Take-Over siblings were here tonight, but as unbelievable as it sounded, each one of them had found their other half within the Raijinshuu Tribe.

More or less.

Mirajane and Fried had started dating around four years ago, when she hired him to be her secretary. Apparently she wasn't working full time at Fairy Tail anymore. Lucy tried to ask them what she was doing now, but they wouldn't tell her. The only answers she received were nonchalant shrugs and annoying knowing smirks.

Aside from that, Elfman and Evergreen had alternatively been in and out of their relationship during the past decade. No one was really sure it could even be called a relationship to begin with. According to Cana, the never ending arguments between the manly mage and the nagging witch had become legendary in the town of Magnolia.

As for Lisanna, after a flickering from date to date and ending a short adventure with Hibiki Laytis three years ago, she'd finally set her sights on Bixlow. Of all people. But although the older mage wasn't entirely indifferent to her charms, he'd kept quiet about it and seemed to enjoy watch the girl chase after him.

A few other couples had formed in the guild, some of them she'd expected.. and some others she hadn't. Such as Jet and Droy, who, crushed by the announcement of Levi and Gajeel's wedding, seemed to have turned to each other... Or at least, that was the current theory of their guild mates.

One thing was sure though, they were both promising candidates for the next S-class exam. Lucy wasn't surprised to learn that most of her friends had already achieved it, and with flying colours. Levy and Gray had been promoted during the exam following her departure, Gajeel the year after and Juvia one year later again. The two youngest members of the take-over siblings had stopped participating for a while, although they were more than qualified to pass. They had obtained their new rank two years ago.

The next generation was eager to follow their steps, but since Wendy and Meredy had been banned and Romeo still lacked in strength and maturity, there was no promotion in sight for the moment.

In their group, only Cana had decided to remain loyal to her rank. Now that her father had acknowledged her, she couldn't care less about the S-class exam. She even refused it when Makarov had offered her the title, free of trial.

Lucy shook her head in amusement; even he couldn't win against her stubbornness. Then, changing the subject, she inquired about another of her close friends.

"How's Erza? Is she on a mission right now?" she asked.

"Kind of. It's not exactly a mission like the ones we do but it's still work." Levy answered cryptically, and as much as the stellar mage tried to pry the truth out of her, she didn't reveal anything.

"I can't believe you guys… Fine, at least tell me one thing; she hasn't gotten married, has she?"

"Hell no." Gray replied immediately. "You would have heard about it all over Fiore if Erza Scarlet was having a wedding."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Lucy admitted with a chuckle. The fiery knight wasn't one to do things half-heartedly.

"She's seeing someone, though." Cana told her. "And you know him pretty well."

The stellar mage tilted her head in confusion, and it was Wendy who answered her silent question. "It's Jellal-san."

"Eh? Jellal?" Lucy said, shocked. "No way! I thought those two decided not to see each other again. Besides, wasn't he-"

"Caught by the Council? Yeah, he was. But they let him out of prison last year, under the condition that he'd be watched over by a trustworthy S-class mage." Gray explained before smirking. "Funny thing is that they chose Erza."

"Chose? Heh right, the crazy woman volunteered for the job."

The deep voice startled Lucy and she turned around to face its owner. The sight that greeted her was quite memorable. Gajeel was back and with extra luggage it seemed; two adorable little girls to be more precise.

One had her arms wrapped around his neck. Probably around seven or eight, she had dark blue, curly hair and bore an incredible resemblance to Levy. She was dressed simply, with a pair of short and a yellow sleeve-less shirt. The other one, hanged on Gajeel's arm seemed younger and looked much more like her father, with ebony black hair and sharper features. She was wearing a lovely purple dress with flowery patterns.

"Hi mom! Watcha doing?" The elder girl chirped, juming of her father's back before turning her attention to Lucy. "Who's that? I've never seen her before."

"Lulu! Don't be so rude!" Levy admonished, pulling her daughter besides her. "She's my friend, Lucy. I already told you about her, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" The girl shouted out as she turned to the stellar mage. "Hi, I'm Lucia Redfox-McGarden! Mom told me she named me after you!"

"Oh, re-really? I mean, nice to meet you Lucia-chan." The blonde mage greeted her, still a bit shocked by the unexpected announcement. She was truly touched that her friend would have named her first child after her. "Levy... I don't know what to say."

The blue haired mage chuckled. "Well, just tell me if you agree to be her godmother."

"Wha- Oh yes, of course! I'd love to!"

While they were chatting, Gajeel took a seat besides Levy, with a little girl still attached to him. She seemed to be a very quiet child unlike her sister and gazed unwaveringly at Lucy. She didn't answer strait away when her mother asked her to introduce herself.

"Oi, midget. We don't have all night." Gajeel grunted, urging her a little. And after a while, she finally consented to speak.

"Hello... My name is Metalicana... I was named after my grandfather." She said slowly. "...You can call me Nana."

"Nice to meet you Nana-chan. How old are you?"

"...Five."

Amused by the little sweetie and her serious behaviour, Lucy was going ask her some more questions when the doors of the guild all but burst open. Startled by the sudden noise, the crowd of mages quieted down and turned to the entrance where an over-excited flying blue cat had made his appearance.

"Hey everyone! You'll never guess whom I met!" Happy exclaimed as he waved around his arms.

"A cat fish?"

"Master Makarov?"

"The mayor's pretty daughter?"

"The old lady who's living alone in the forest?"

"The other old lady who's haunting the mansion on Fairy Hills?"

"You're late!"

"No, you're all wrong! ... uh, I mean.. sorry Charle." Happy apologized to the white Exceed who came flying besides him. "But I came across him and I-"

"Him? Who him?"

For the first time, Happy slightly moved away from the door and as they all bent forward to take a look, they caught sight of a small figure standing there. The kid -judging from his height- hesitantly stepped inside as Happy pushed him forward.

He had barely walked one meter in when a voice, coming from the back, caught everyone's attention.

"Aki! Where have you been?"

"Waaaah!"

The mages stared in shock as the kid burst into tears and made a bee-line for Lucy when he saw her at the counter.

"Uuuh.." His hood fell down as he threw himself at her, revealing a blonde head and dark ebony eyes overflowing with tears. "I got lost... I was so scared."

"Come on. It's alright now." The stellar mage said softly as she patted his head.

"Oh my, aren't you the little girl we met this afternoon?" Juvia said before she could stop herself. "Hem, I mean-"

If much, it only made him cry twice harder. "Waaaaah! She called me a girl!"

Lucy couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as the boy once more buried his face in her cloak. "Now, now. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose." She said with a small nod in Juvia's direction.

"W-Who is he?" Gray asked and his unusual stutter betrayed the doubt forming at the back of his mind.

Lucy smiled knowingly before crouching to be at the child's level. "Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"

The boy dried his last tears and nodded shyly. A light blush coloured his cheeks as he turned to face the older mages and he bowed briefly.

"G-Good evening everyone. I'm Aki Dragneel-Heartfilia, it's very nice to meet you all."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

* * *

And that's all for now, I'll leave the guild's reaction for the next time:)

Continuing on the pairings list, we have:  
LevixGajeel  
JellalxErza  
MirajaneXFreed  
ElfmanxEvergreen  
BixlowxLisanna (sort of)  
HappyxCharle  
PantherlilyxRui (an OC that will appear later)

and a love triangle: Meredy - Romeo - Wendy

As for the mages' kids, there's:

_Lucia Redfox-McGarden  
8 years old, dark blue hair, black eyes

_Metallicana Redfox-McGarden  
5 years old, black hair and eyes

_Aki Dragneel-Heartfilia  
9-10ish, and will be described later on

The children aren't going to play a major part in this story, it will still be centered around the mages of canon.  
But if you want more details about them or the character's history during the ten year lapse, feel free to ask me directly.

Thanks for your reviews and adds! Don't hesitate to tell me what you think,

Until next time.


	3. Ch3: Memories

Lucy smiled knowingly before crouching to be at the child's level. "Why don't you introduce yourself to everyone?"

The boy dried his last tears and nodded shyly. A light blush coloured his cheeks as he turned to face the older mages and he bowed briefly.

"G-Good evening everyone. I'm Aki Dragneel-Heartfilia, it's very nice to meet you all."

**Chapter 3****: ****Memories**

A long silence fell upon the guild at the boy's words.

For a few moments, they tried to digest the bomb he had just dropped. There was no denying that he was Lucy's child. The same shape of face, his rather feminine features and short cut sunny blonde hair made it quite clear. And now that they looked closely, they realized his dark, sharp eyes bore a distinct resemblance to their lost friend.

Aki shifted uncomfortably under their stares and under his half parted cloak, the mages saw he was wearing an almost exact copy of the fire dragonslayer's clothes, only blue and white where it should have been black and beige. The only missing item was the scaled scarf once given by Igneel. It seemed to have been replaced by a turquoise jewel hung on a thin cord, matching his mother's.

Finally, it was Wendy who first broke the silence. "Dragneel?" She repeated in the small voice she used to have in her teenage years. "You mean, like Natsu? H-He's Natsu's son?"

The stellar mage simply nodded as she put a hand on her son's shoulder.

"Don't tell me... you've found him?!" The young Dragonslayer asked hopefully, and for a short moment, a look of expectancy swept around the guild.

Unfortunately, their mood was quickly damped when they saw Lucy's expression turn to a grave and serious frown.

"No. Not yet."

"Oh... I-I see."

Wendy tried to tone down the disappointment that pierced through her voice, as Lucy was surely more affected by this, but she wasn't really doing a very good job at it.

"However," The stellar mage continued. "I've recently discovered some things that could help us. That's why I came back."

The mages nodded and settled down once more, asking Lucy to explain herself. She agreed but first turned to her son.

"Aki, why don't you go play with Lucia and Nana?"

"Eh? But you're going to talk about dad aren't you? I want to stay!"

Lucy smiled indulgently. "I'm not going to say anything more that you don't already know. Don't worry."

The boy pouted a little but didn't protest much more.

"Ok then."

When she heard that, Lucia ran up to him and took his hand into hers, the other one pulling her sister along. "Come on, we'll show you the guild! And we'll introduce you to Asuka-chan!"

"A-ah, wait!"

The adults chuckled as they watched the two kids being dragged away by the forceful blue haired girl.

"What an energetic kid." Lucy commented with amusement.

"Tell me about it." Levy said, as she shook her head. "If your son doesn't stop her, she could drag him to the end of the world."

"Ha ha ha, I don't think he will. He's quite shy."

"Not at all like his father then." The petite mage added. "Now that I think about it... He looks around nine or ten years old; you must have had him just after you left the guild."

"Yeah, I only realized it two weeks later. But by then, I was already far from Magnolia and since I was near Love & Lucky, I decided to go visit my father. After Aki was born, we stayed with him for a year and half." Lucy added, as a small and sad smile curved her lips.

Her friends guessed that there was more to the story than she was telling, but they didn't pry in, trying instead to lighten the mood.

"You guys sure didn't waste your time." Gray said with a sly grin. "We all knew you and that flame brain were dating, but we had no idea you had already gone that far."

Lucy crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "I don't want to hear that from you." She retorted playfully. "At least _my_ lover didn't keep on ignoring me for years! I don't know how Juvia managed to wait so long for you."

Gray winced at the harsh, but admittedly true words. He was saved from answering when Juvia all but draped herself around his shoulders, glowing hearts shining in her eyes. "Juvia would wait forever for Gray-sama!"

The friends couldn't help but laugh when the ice mage rolled his eyes at her over sentimental declaration. However, and unlike the Gray from ten years ago, the ice mage didn't push her away but instead slid an arm around her waist to bring her closer.

Lucy smiled warmly at the cute sight her two friends made. On the other side, Gajeel was leaning with his back against the counter, his elbows resting on it and Levy was quietly sitting on a stool next to him. They weren't as cuddly as the two others -the contrary would have been quite surprising really- but they looked at ease, confortable with each other and Lucy felt a pang on envy strike her heart.

It had been so long. Over the years she'd somehow become accustomed to his absence and it had been a bit easier with Aki at her side.

But she couldn't lie to herself. She missed him; missed him so much that it hurt.

For ten years she'd never stopped searching, wavering between ecstatic hope whenever she found a new lead and sheer disappointment when it proved to be a dead-end. Seeing her friends together, so close to each other gave her mixed feelings. Right now, she was more determined than ever but also scared, frightened by the mere thought of another failure.

At this moment, Cana's voice shook her out of her depressing thoughts.

"So Lucy, you said you had news?"

"Uh? Oh yeah." Lucy straightened a little on her seat, feeling the inquisitive gazes of her friends. "While I was away, I learned a few things about magical disappearances and travels, as well as how to create them."

"Magical travels?" Levy repeated, frowning. "Lu-chan, you don't mean..."

Lucy nodded. "Exactly. It's about Anima."

"A-Anima?"

They stared at the stellar mage as if she'd grown a second head. Finally, it was Cana who spoke first.

"But Lucy, you know we already considered that, and it didn't work. Or have you already forgotten?"

A melancholic smile made its way on Lucy's face. "There's no way I could ever forget that day."

**O-o-o-o- _Ten years ago, Tenrou Island_ –o-o-o-O**

"_Back to the boats! Hurry!"_

_Guided by the strong voice of their Master, the mages of Fairy Tail quickly retreated from the battlefield. No matter how much they hated the idea of fleeing before the enemy, they were simply no match for the enormous dragon. Firing useless attacks at the monsters, they still tried to buy some time to run away from their island. However, even Master Makarov remained powerless and Acnologia was slowly catching up._

"_We'll never make it in time!" Evergreen shouted out._

"_Don't give up!" Erza ordered as she once more changed her armor. "The injured ones leave first, the ones with long range magic with me! We have to hold it off until they fire Etherion!"_

_Bucked up by the fierce Titania, the mages drew on their last reserves of energy to launch another series of attacks._

"_Ice Make, Lance!"_

"_Door of the Centaur, Sagittarius!"_

"_Water Slicer!"_

"_Solid Script, Arrows!"_

"_Explosion Cards!"_

"_Dance my swords!" _

_The powerful combination sent a mix of weapons and magic flying at the dragon. It exploded on contact and created a huge cloud of smoke and debris which blinded the mages for a short moment. Unfortunately, once it disappeared, they realized their attacks had all but rebounded off the monster, leaving it unscratched._

"_Gajeel, let's go!"_

"_Tch, don't order me around."_

_Taking their friends' place on the front line, the two adult Dragonslayers breathed in as much air as they could._

"_Fire Dragon's…"_

"_Iron Dragon's…"_

"_Sky Dragon's-"_

"_ROAR!"_

_Fire, Iron and Air mixed in one whirl and hit the terrible monster dead on, making it reel back._

_Natsu turned to the little girl in shock. "Wendy? I thought you were injured!"_

"_B-But I want to help Natsu-san and the others!"_

"_Oi brats, there's no time for chatting." Gajeel cut in._

_The younger dragonslayers looked up to see Acnologia rise and growl in fury._

"_Leave it to us."_

"_Gildarts! Laxus!"_

_The two burly men stood firmly in front of the black dragon. They forced the other mages, especially the pink haired one, to fall back. Laxus concentrated and started his incantation. "Resounding through the air, the roar of the thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction…"_

_Meanwhile, Gildarts was also concentrating his magic and as Acnologia let out an enraged roar, the mages both launched their attacks._

"_Raging Bolt!"_

"_Haja Kenshô, Itten!"_

_A blinding bolt of lightning struck the monster which was then engulfed in a gigantic explosion. The aftershock was so great it made the ground shake and even the dragon seemed to lose its balance, if only for a short moment._

"_Everyone, run!"_

_The Fairies didn't need to be told twice and they all picked up the pace toward the shore._

_Well, all but one._

"_Natsu! What the hell are you doing?!" Erza shouted in alarm._

_The knight was bringing up the rear and turned around when she realized the fire dragonslayer was still behind them. Right on the path of Acnologia._

_Because of the deafening noise of the explosions, most the mages didn't hear her and kept on running. Only Lucy and Gray were close enough to stop._

"_Natsu!" The stellar mage called. "Come back, you can't defeat it!"_

"_Listen to her for once, flame brain! Hurry!"_

_Natsu took a step backward when the dragon roared again but didn't turn away. Shadowed by the rubble falling like dust, his face was out of their sight, but even from where they were standing, they could see his balled fists shake in anger._

"_Shut up, ice prick!" He retorted. "I'm a dragonslayer! There's no way I'd let that stupid monster destroy our island!"_

_As those words left his mouth, swirls of fire started to appear around him and soon, a pillar of fire was emanating from the dragonslayer's body._

"_Metsuryuu Ougi…" Gathering his magic in his hands, he created multiple flame blades that stormed around him like a blazing inferno._

_The three mages raised their arms to protect their faces from the extreme heat. "Is that… Guren Bakuenjin?" Erza said slowly._

_The technique, one among the Dragon Slayer's Secret Art, wasn't unknown to them, even though they had never seen it with their own eyes._

"_It won't be enough." Gray warned._

_Acnologia had stopped and was about to attack. And judging from the maelstrom of magic raging around the black dragon, Natsu wouldn't be able to overpower it._

"_Natsu! Come back!" Lucy cried out._

"_Crimson Lotus, Exploding Flame Blade!"_

_A torrent of incandescent waves flew at the dragon, showering the immense figure with a barrage of flames. Those blades were said to be so powerful and destructive they could smash through dragon scales, and for a moment, they thought it could work._

_Unfortunately, Acnologia retaliated and dipped its head to let out a terrifying roar. The burst of dark energy shattered the blades, dispersing the flames and flying straight toward the dragonslayer. Unable to mage, the young man raised his arms in a last attempt to protect himself from the blow. But it was too late._

"_NATSU!"_

_Lucy's scream was engulfed in an explosion of flames. The mages were literally thrown backward and had to cover their faces to shield themselves from all the debris showering them._

_Fortunately, they hadn't been standing right in the path of the blast, which had still been powerful enough to create a deep trench over hundreds of meters, and they were relatively unharmed. However, the cloud of dust born from the destruction was so thick they couldn't see beyond their feet._

_The stellar mage took a few steps forward as she tried to locate the fire dragonslayer._

"_Natsu!" Lucy called out, coughing. "Where are you?"_

"_Oi! Natsu"_

_When the smoke started to clear up, they were relieved to see their pink haired comrade, down on the ground, bruised and exhausted but otherwise relatively unhurt. In front of him was a dark silhouette, standing protectively against the dragon as his black cloak billowed behind him._

"_That guy…" Gray said slowly, recognizing the raven haired man. "He's the one Grimoire Heart is looking for, Zeref!"_

_They didn't know whether or not the dark mage had heard them because at this moment, he fell on his knees, clutching his right arm in pain._

"_H-Hey! You ok?" Natsu asked as he scrambled back on his feet and rushed besides the wizard, all suspicions and grudges apparently forgotten for the time being. Blood was also dripping from his own right arm where the blast of the dragon had grazed him._

"_Yeah... I'm fine, Natsu." Zeref replied in an unexpectedly soft voice. "Don't worry about me. Go, before it's too late."_

_Startled, Natsu stepped back when the dark mage pushed him away. "Why are you helping us now?" He demanded, his voice rising. "Aren't you the one who brought that damn monster here?!"_

_Zeref cringed at those words. "I'm sorry. I didn't know… That's not what I wanted. I'm really sorry, Natsu." Tearing his gaze away from the dragonslayer, he shot a pleading glance at the other mages. "I'll hold it back long enough for you to escape. I swear I'll protect you, please believe me!"_

_Distrusting and doubtful looks were the only responses he received._

"_Why would you do that?" Gray retorted._

_Zeref opened his mouth to answer but he was cut by a deafening roar. Acnologia didn't take well being resisted._

"_Go!" Zeref shouted, turning back to face the dragon. "Please Natsu… go."_

_Long, dreadfully long seconds passed as Natsu and Zeref stared at each other, gauging the other's expression. Not a word was exchanged but a thousand of thoughts flashed through their meaningful gazes. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Natsu lowered his eyes._

"_You'd better not die on me." He muttered before turning on his heels._

_Lucy couldn't hide her surprise. Did he really consider him as an ally now? She glanced questioningly at her lover but his closed off expression didn't let out anything._

"_Let's go!"_

_She felt his hand behind his shoulder, steering her forward, and decided her questions could wait. Soon, the fairies were once again running through the forest as enraged roars thundered behind them. They were almost at the shore when a shock wave burst through the trees, hitting them head on. _

"_Aargh!"_

_Starts exploded in her head when Lucy was projected against a tree. A pair of arms snatched her before she could fall and picked her up, bridal style. Unable to see past her blurry tears, she could only sense her carrier starting to run again._

"_Na..tsu?"_

_A lock of hair fell on her face. Long red hair._

_Erza then. Oh yeah, she remembered, Natsu probably couldn't move his arm yet._

"_I'm here Lucy." A deep, well-known voice then said, to her great relief. But a few seconds later, she heard a whisper that made her blood freeze in her veins._

"… _I'm sorry.."_

"_Wha- Agh!"_

_Lucy cringed when a sudden jump of Erza made her aching back cry out in pain._

"_Sorry Lucy." The knight said hastily. "Please hang on."_

_The blonde mage wanted to shout, yell at them to turn around and make sure their friend was still following them. But as hard as she tried, no words managed to pass the barrier of her lips._

_There was a last roar, an explosion that burst through the sea and the sky, and the world fell into darkness._

_O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O_

* * *

And that's all for now, hope you like this chapter^^

**GoldenRoseTanya**: ooooooo ooooooh, thanks for reviewing XD

**Wasabi-kun**: glad you liked it :), more fluff to come!

**Sophie Chant**: ha ha, I didn't think anyone would like the Jet Droy pairing. It was just a random idea, but maybe I could do it later... thanks for your review.

**MelodyKey**: Oops, I really thought Levy's name was with an 'i', thanks for the review and correction.

I updated earlier than expected so the next chapter will probably come out a bit later, I'll put it on my profile.

Bye


	4. Ch4: Hopeful Tomorrow

**Chapter 4****: ****Hopeful tomorrow**

_Everything around her was of a blinding shade of blue. Sky blue, ocean blue, even… hair blue? Squinting her eyes to make out the vague form hovering above her, she finally managed to recognize the petite silhouette of her fried._

"_Le-Levy?"_

"_Lu-chan! Thank god you're alright!" Levy shouted out in relief as she glomped her. A dull throb shot through her back and head, reminiscent of her accident in the forest. Speaking of which…_

"_What happened?"_

_The blue haired mage pulled back but didn't completely let go of her friend. _

"_The dragon shot an attack. It was so powerful it sent all of us flying in different directions." Levy explained gravely. "Thankfully, it seems no one was badly injured. The council people are helping us right now and thanks to them and master, we've almost gathered everyone now."_

_Lucy looked around and saw that, indeed, the council boat was anchored near the Fairy Tail ship. Supported by the soldiers, Lisanna, Wendy, Fried and Mirajane were slowing making their way back on their own deck. A little further away, a gigantic Makarov was walking in the sea with Evergreen, Elfman, Cana and Juvia perched on his barely emerging shoulders. Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, Bixlow, Gildarts and the three cats were already on the boat. Which meant only one person was missing on the roll call._

_Lucy scanned the vast plain of the ocean, hoping to make out a mop of pink hair among this infinite blue. However, the sight that greeted her eyes stuck her breath in her throat._

"_The island…"_

_Besides her, Levy lowered her head in despair. _

"_It's gone."_

_Of the magnificent tree, the pride and honour of their guild, nothing remained. The thick forest, the tortuous caves, the steep cliffs, everything was gone. An enormous crater, now filled by the endless sea water, had replaced it all, transforming their beloved sanctuary into a thin, crescent moon shaped atoll._

_The other members of Fairy Tail seemed as shaken as she was. Most of them were tending to their, or someone else's injuries, or just simply taking a fully deserved break, leaning against the rail. An eerie silence was floating over the mages, only broken here and there by quiet whispers and hushed conversations._

_Finally, a normal sized Makarov set foot on the deck. Their old master seemed tired and exhausted, as they all were, but he smiled warmly at the sight of his children._

"_Is everyone alright?" He asked gently, and a general but silent nod answered him._

_He looked about to say something else but Happy's high-pitched voice beat him to the bush._

"_Are? Natsu, where are you?" Scurrying along, he began to look around the boat, searching for a pink head among his comrades. "Natsu~"_

_That caught the attention of his guild mates, but no matter where they looked, they were only faced with the equally worried glances of their friends. And no fire breathing mage in sight._

_Lucy slowly approached the group, leaning on Levy for support. "Master… he's not here." She said in a painfully weak voice. "He was behind us on the island… I lost sight of him."_

"_Behind us?" Erza repeated. "That's impossible! We were the last ones to leave. If he was still behind…"_

_The knight trailed off and her gaze went over the remains of their island, dreading the worst. A fearful silence fell upon the fairies, each and every one of them thinking the same thing, and it was only broken by the strong voice of their Master._

"_He might still be with the council soldiers." Makarov cut in. "You! Yeah, you Mest or whatever your name is. Go back to your ship and ask if they've seen him!"_

_Startled at first, Doranbolt quickly nodded and jumped into the nearest rowboat. Once he was gone, the others also decided to look around by themselves._

"_Juvia will search underwater." The blue haired mage said before diving into the sea._

"_I'll go too." Lisanna added as she transformed._

"_We'll look from above." Charle announced as she and Pantherlily summoned out their wings._

_They were quickly imitated by the other flying mages. "Good idea. Let's help them too Fried." Mira called out. She hadn't much energy left but she still managed to use her Demon Soul. With Fried, she took off after the Exceed and they spread into different directions. _

_Back on the ground, or rather on the waves, Gray created an ice path and accompanied by Erza, he headed straight for the island. _

_With all the mages searching, only four of them had remained on the deck. Lucy was holding Happy close to her chest, her eyes downcast. Makarov and Levy were besides her, trying to pry answers out of the heartbroken stellar mage._

"_Ne Lucy." Happy asked in a pitiful voice. "Where's Natsu?"_

"_I… I don't…" Lucy swallowed the thick lump stuck in her throat and tried to hold back her tears. "He's gone."_

"_What?" Makarov frowned. The definite and almost resigned tone that pierced through the young woman's voice worried him more that he cared to admit._

"_You don't know it yet, Lu-chan!" Levy protested. "He might have been thrown far away by the blast, he's probably somewhere around!"_

_But the blond mage only shook her head. In her heart, she'd already understand what had yet to dawn upon her companions. Wherever they searched, she knew they wouldn't find him, because he wasn't here anymore. And his last words echoed once again in her mind._

"_I'm sorry."_

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

_In the end, Lucy's terrible premonitions proved to be true. No matter how far they went, they never managed to find a single trace of Natsu. _

_There had been a spark of hope when Juvia and Lisanna resurfaced though. Something wasn't right. They had expected to find a mountain of rubble and debris underwater, along with the remains of their sacred tree. But there hadn't been anything. Absolutely no sign that a giant explosion had occurred above this part of the ocean floor. _

_That was when the exceeds came up with the idea of an Anima. Surely a blast that powerful must have brought out enough magic to create a bridge between worlds. As Lily summarised, it could explain everything. _

_So they tried to open a portal to another dimension as it had been done for Edolas. Some of them even went to the exceeds' new village to request their queen's help. But there was nothing she could have done. They had no means or ways to open another Anima and even worse, Shagotte's divination powers didn't seem to work on the fire dragonslayer anymore._

_That had prompted the mages of Fairy Tail to abandon the Anima hypothesis, but only that. They never stopped clinging to the hope that he was still alive. Natsu Dragneel couldn't be dead, it's just wasn't something they could possibly consider and that single thought kept them going for years. _

_Ten years of searching, without any lead, without any success._

**O-o-o-o- Present time, Fairy Tail –o-o-o-O**

"So why do you still think it could be an Anima?" Gray finally asked, cutting through the pensive and nostalgic silence that had fallen over the little group of mages.

"Not could be." Lucy retorted. "It _is _an Anima."

The mages frowned in confusion, still not catching on whatever she was saying. Lucy leaned back in her chair, prepared to answer an avalanche of questions. Unsurprisingly, Cana was the first to speak up.

"Then why didn't it work when we tried it ten years ago?"

"Because we had it wrong. When Acnologia attacked, its power was indeed enough to create a passage, but it didn't happen the same way as it had for Edolas. Which isn't very surprising really, considering the destination wasn't even Edolas."

Lucy bit back a little smile at her friends' dumbstruck expression. It reminded her a lot of her own astonishment when she'd first discovered that. Even before giving up on the Anima, they had only thought about the Exceed's birthplace, not even once supposing it could be somewhere else.

"Not Edolas?" Wendy said. "But… where then?"

The stellar mage sighed. "I'm not really sure yet. All I know is that it's another world, stuck in a dimension separated from Earthland."

Those revelations left the mages speechless for a few moments, as they pondered over their implications.

"But an Anima is the only way to travel through dimensions." Levy mused, holding her chin in a pensive pose. "Did you find another method? Or maybe we didn't do it right the last time… Did we miss something?"

Lucy smiled at her best friend's insightful thoughts. Levy could have understood everything in a matter of minutes, given the right indications.

"That's exactly what happened." Lucy told her. "We missed two things. First, our Anima didn't work because we hadn't used enough power."

"Not enough?" Gray repeated, gobsmacked. "All the most powerful mages of Fairy Tail were there! Old man Makarov, Gildarts, Erza, Mira, even Master. And that still wasn't enough?!"

The stellar mage shrugged helplessly. "I also had a hard time believing it at first, but yeah, that was one of the problems."

A general sigh swept through the little party as they slumped in their chairs. They hadn't managed to bring him because they lacked power? Power, of all things?

"What's the other?" Juvia asked.

"The right time." Lucy answered. "There are different criteria to meet in order to travel to each world. For Edolas, we needed the Exceed's magic or we had to be summoned by someone who was born on their side. For that new world, what we need is-"

"AN ECLIPSE!"

Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin when a childish voice yelled right next to her ear. She turned around to face the culprit.

"Aki! Don't do that!" She admonished. "You really scared me."

"Sorry mom." He apologised, only looking truly sorry for less than half a second.

"What are you doing here alone anyway? I thought you were playing with the girls." Lucy said before realising that her son wasn't actually the only child present. Two little girls were hiding behind him, shyly clutching the fabric of his vest. One of them was Nana, and although she'd never seen her before, Lucy easily guessed that the other, with black hair tied in a braid and a cowboy hat on top of it, was Bisca and Alzack's daughter.

"Asuka-chan, right?" The six year old nodded cutely at her question. "What are you three doing downstairs? And where's Lucia-chan?"

"We were playing hide and seek." Aki replied, pouting. "But we ran away 'cause Lucia's always cheating."

"Am not!"

The adults were once again startled by the arrival of an over-excited kid. Lucia ran up to the blond boy, looking totally pissed off.

Aki seemed to lose a bit of his composure in front of the younger girl but he didn't back off. '"Y-Yeah, you are… You never finished counting."

"Because I thought you were already hiding!" Lucia retorted before turning to her sister. "And you Nana! How could you me leave me too?!"

Absolutely unfazed by her elder's outburst, the last born of the Redfox-McGarden family magnificently ignored her and scurried closer to Aki.

"Nana!"

"Lea-Leave her a-alone."

"I'm not talking to you!"

Lucy sighed inwardly, ready to stop the kids from going too far. If the eyebrow twitching Gajeel didn't explode first that is. She wasn't even sitting next to him but she could sense his annoyance coming out in waves.

"B-B-But you cheated."

"No, I did not!"

"…Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"ENOUGH!"

Their dispute was cut short by the sudden shout. However, it didn't actually come from the expected dragonslayer. Lucy's eyes widened in shock when Wendy rose and started to scold the children one by one.

"Lucia, I don't care if you cheated or not, stop shouting! Aki, it's just a game, don't get so upset!"

The two older kids shut their mouths faster than lightening.

"Nana, stop ignoring your sister! Asuka, don't start crying! And Gray, at least keep your pants on when the children are here!"

"Wha- Aargh! Not again!"

Wendy huffed in an annoyed manner as Gray scrambled away to search for his pants, not noticing that Juvia had pulled a pair of them, seemingly out of nowhere. The sky dragonslayer turned to the children once more.

"Now go find your nii-chan. Tell him I sent you, he'll play with you."

"_Did she just dump them all on Romeo?_" Lucy thought incredulously.

Her sudden outburst and display of authority reminded her of a certain armour loving mage, all polite honorifics thrown out the window when her temper got the better of her. All the mages had slightly backed away from the irritated dragonslayer and even Gajeel, who had tried to remain as impassive as possible, had not been so stupid as to not move a few centimetres away from the inner Erza that had awakened in Wendy.

The four kids nodded obediently and walked away in silence.

Just before leaving though, Aki turned to his mother and asked again, "But I was right, wasn't I? About the eclipse."

"Yes darling, perfectly right." Lucy said, smiling fondly. "Now go."

The blond boy nodded vigorously and ran to catch up with the three younger girls. Once the children were gone, all the adults cautiously glanced at Wendy, wondering if she had sufficiently calmed down for them to come back closer.

The sky dragonslayer indeed semmed to have cooled off and she sat down, legs crossed. "So Lucy-san, what was that all about?" She asked in a polite, but demanding voice.

"Y-Yeah... well, it's just as Aki said." Lucy replied tentatively. "To reach this world we need to wait for an eclipse."

"How come?" Levy asked. "There wsan't anything like that ten years ago."

"I know. That's something that bothered me when I read about it. Apparently, all those criteria I told you about, the Exceed, the eclipse, can be over ruled by using a real dragon's power. Since we don't have that, we'll have to do it the other way."

The mages nodded, now getting a clear view of what was awaiting them.

"And so? When are we going?" A fully dressed Gray inquired as he took back his seat next to Juvia. "I guess we don't have that much time."

"Actually, I was so worried about missing the eclipse that I rushed here with Aki as fast as I could." Lucy admitted sheepishly. "We still have one month to go to Tenrou."

"Oh, is that so..."

It was weird really. During a whole decade, there had been no hope of finding him and then suddenly, they were told he could be brought back in just a month.

Wendy clasped her hands excitedly. It was because she wanted to meet Natsu that she first made contact with the mages of Fairy Tail and since then, she'd always considered him like a brother. With him gone, and then Lucy, the guild had seemed terribly empty and she'd longed to meet again the older dragonslayer.

Of course, it wasn't as if she had been all alone. Gajeel had always been here for her too, in his own gruffy and aloof way. The eldest dragonslayer had taken upon him to guide the little brat at first, before leaving her into the good hands of her master. As for him, even though he had been more than busy with his own new family and work, he had also thought about the salamander from time to time, wondering if he'd ever come back so he could fight him again.

And he hadn't been the only one, Gray too often found himself reminiscing about his friend. His eighteen year old self would have rather died than admit it, but he had honestly missed that flame brain idiot. Even though Natsu always annoyed him to no end, he'd been his best friend since childhood. During those ten years, there had been many times when he'd just sat on a bench, in the middle of the guild, as if expecting the pink haired moron to barge in and start a fight.

But it never happened. Without him, the guild just hadn't been the same.

And the one who had missed him the most was probably Happy. When his partner had disappeared, the poor exceed had been left alone in their house. Unable to bear with the solitude, he had locked up the place and went to live with his other guildmates. It had been Erza or Gray at first, but then the kight had become more busy with her work and the ice mage had moved in with Juvia, so Happy decided to leave. He had been living with Wendy and Charle for the past five years now.

The two cats were quietly sitting on the bar and Charle, in a rare display of affection, was gently patting the head of her teary-eyed companion.

"Natsu._..._"

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

It was already very late when Lucy decided to go back home for the night. After pulling Aki out of another fight of his with Lucia, and taking back her keys from Levy, she bid her friends goodnight and left with her son.

The two of them were quietly walking down the river bank, and Lucy smiled when Aki jumped on the stone ledge and spread his arms to keep his balance. That reminded her of someone.

"Watch your step little master!"

"Hai~~"

Aki waved to the man in his boat and slowed down a little bit when his mother told him to. It was quite dark outside and she didn't want to have to dive to pull him out of the cold water.

Walking behind him, the stellar mage lifted her gaze toward the pitch black sky, her previous conversation with her friends resurfacing in her mind. There was something she hadn't told them. The upcoming eclipse wasn't really their last chance to bring Natsu back, as she had subrepticely insinuated it. However, their next opportunity would only arise fifty years from now.

Lucy glanced sadly at her young son. Even he didn't know it. She had bet everything on this, for him to get to know his father and for her to be reunited with him, there was no way she would miss that chance.

Just a few more weeks, and the dim moon would once again cross the path of the sun and the earth, darkening the day as it would finally grant her wish.

* * *

TBC...

Sorry for the delay, I've been a bit busy lately. Thanks again for your reviews and adds!

This chapter was still centered on Lucy and the others, next one will focus more on what happened on Natsu's side.

Hope you liked it, and feel free to tell me what you thought (do you like the new Wendy? I've always wanted to see her scare everyone^^)

See ya!


	5. Ch5: A new world

**Chapter 5****: ****A new world**

The vast rain forest went as far as the eye could see. Few humans dared to cross its borders, as it was rumoured to be an inextricable maze of plants where the wildlife, whether rooted, crawling or flying could devour any imprudent wanderer. Fiercely concealing its secrets, the primary forest of Sajara was breathing at the rhythm of its inhabitants, quietly buzzing and humming in a hushed silence.

_**SSHHHRRAAAARRGH!**_

"Aaaaaahhh!"

_**CRACK! BAM!**_

Well, in a relatively hushed silence.

All the birds nearby flew away when a cannonball burst throught the thick foliage of the tree ferns. They escaped just in time before another dark silhouette, a thousand times more massive, broke down the trees in a mad pursuit.

"Dammit! Leave me alone!" A young man, aka the cannonball, shouted to the gigantic monster following him. In vain of course.

The five meters* high insect-like beast didn't slow down one bit. Granted with a hundred knife-like legs, the giant centipede also possessed two snake fangs, oozing of a deadly poison. The human mage had acidentally disturbed the slumbering animal and was now running for his life in the muggy forest. Fortunately for him, the thick vegetation was slowing down the beast and he was hoping to shake it off quickly.

"Agh!"

He was violently stopped mid-course when a branch caught the fabric of his turban. Cursing his loose-fitting clothing, totally inadapted to the rainforest, he hastily tried to rip it off the branch. But it wouldn't budge, and the beast was closing in.

"Damn, stay a-Wah!"

Crouching on the ground, he barely avoided the deadly fangs as the black monster flew above him in a deafening rumble. But the good news was, its tender stomach, which was also its weak spot, was now totally exposed. Reacting quickly, he ignited his fists.

"Fire Dragon's Claws!"

The powerful blow hit the centipede dead on. Roaring in agony, it tumbled and crashed on the ground, destroying a few trees in the process. Now that his neck was free, the young mage could attack without restraints.

"Ha ha ha! I got ya this time!" He laughed, mocking the poisonous monster. Then he took a deep breath, and- "Fire Dragon's Roar!"

The tornado of flames engulfed the monster, as well as half of the trees surrounding him in a fifty meter radius. The drops of poison on his fangs instantly evaporated under the blazing heat and the centipede was all but burned to a crisp.

The young man slowly caught up his breath as the fire died out, leaving a large desert area covered in ashes. Now all the forest around him seemed deadly silent, and he stayed like that for a few minutes, wondering where to go next.

"Natsu!"

"Waah!" Startled, the pink haired mage tripped on a root and lost his balance. Glaring at the newcomer from the ground, he shouted out, "Damn it! Stop sneaking up on me like that! Didn't I already tell you to make some noise when you arrive, Zeref?"

"I did make noise, I even called you three times." The other man retorted. He was dressed in a long white mantle, whereas Natsu's was beige. But like him, he wore a pair of cotton pants and a large shirt of the same fabric. The only thing he didnt have in common with his friend was the tagelmust (turban) around his head.*** He went on. "I heard an explosion and I was worried something happened to you. What have you been doing he- Aaahh!"

Having finally caught sight of the enormous barbecued animal, he pointed an accusating finger in its direction. "What is that?!"

"Hem... Well, you see... That's a.. It was a centipede."

"I can see that! But why did you kill it?"

"I didn't have the choice!" Natsu replied hotly. "That thing attacked me out of nowhere, I just wanted to scare it away."

The deadpan look his friend gave him clearly showed that he didn't buy it. "That's how you call _charring_ it?"

Natsu grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. "Ok, maybe I overdid it a little. What's the big deal anyway? It's not like it's the first thing I... char in this forest."

"Idiot! Did you forget what happened last time?" Zeref's voice was bordering on panic. "The smell of burned flesh always brings out-"

_**Ksssshhh**_

The two men froze at the sound. It came from behind them and they slowly turned around, knowing they wouldn't like what they were going to face.

"...the red scorpions." Zeref finshed desperatly.

"Oh shit."

No other words could have described the situation any better. Natsu and Zeref were now facing a herd of giant, crimson red scorpions. Towering at a height of no less than ten meters**, those terrible arachnids were not only much more poisonous than the deadly centipede, but also insanely stronger. Their double hooked tail could pierce through nearly anything and their clutches looked more like a machine's grinder than anything remotely animal.

The two mages had already come across those things, and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. The smell of burnt made them crazy and the usually apathic creatures would go on a rampage, destroying anything that dared cross their path.

Such as our poor mages right now.

"Natsu, run!"

The pink haired dragonslayer didn't need to be told twice. Picking himself off the ground, he broke into a crazy run with Zeref just as the scorpions started to chase them.

Once again, the peaceful stilness of the forest was disturbed by the mad sounds of two yelling men and the roars of destruction caused by the beasts. Natsu and Zeref were running so fast you would have thought they were flying.

As he dodged another branch on his path, the pink haired mage suddenly seemed to remember something. "Hey! Where is she?"

"No idea. Wah!" Zeref said hastily before jumping out of the way of an angry scorpion's tail sweep. "She wanted to go pick some flowers-"

"Again?!"

"Don't ask me!" The dark magician retorted. "But we agreed to meet by the river. Where it starts to curve."

Their little discussion was interrupted by the narrowing path and they had to run on different ways for a few seconds. As they were coming back side to side, Natsu shouted out, "Let's go then! Where is it?"

When Zeref didn't answer right away, Natsu just knew it was going to be a problem.

"I forgot."

"What?!"

"I got lost and I couldn't track her back!" Zeref cried out for his defence. Glancing back at the scorpions, a sparkle of hope appeared on his face. "Hey look Natsu, they got caught in the lianas! We've almost lost the-"

"ZEREF, STOP!"

"Ah!"

Only Natsu's quick reflexes prvented him from jumping to his death two hundred meters down. Zeref's eyes widened in shock when he was met with the sight of a precipitous cliff right under his feet. A few rock fell below him as he was pulled back on the solid ground. The two mages stumbled and fell on their backs, both breathing heavily.

"Haah... Thanks Natsu."

"No... problem." The fire dragonslayer replied with his trademark grin.

However, it soon became evident that he had spoken too quickly as a very problematic sound echoed once again behid them.

_**Ksssrrrhhh**_

"The scorpions!"

"What do we do now? We're trapped!"

"No other choice then, let's fight!"

"Yeah sure, as if we could ever beat them all."

"So what are we supposed to do genius? Sit and die? Or maybe jump over there and learn how to fly?!"

"You'd survive that! Since there isn't anything but air in your head, you'll probably float!"

"What the hell! Whose fault was it in the first place? If you had remembered the way-"

_**Sssssrhhhrr... Krrrsssshhh CRACK!**_

The last tree standing between them and the scorpions was crushed under their razor-shaped legs and they advanced on the two mage like a crimson red tsunami.

Natsu and Zeref immediately took their fighting stances, but suddenly, the place where they were standing was covered by a large shadow. When they glanced up, they heard a familiar feminine voice calling them out.

"Nacchan, Zecchan! Hop on!"

"Mavis!"

Descending from they sky on the back of a grey wyvern was their little bushy haired friend, waving at them from behind a huge flower bouquet.

"Hurry up!"

Zeref jumped first and landed nimbly behing Mavis but when he looked back, he nearly froze in fear. "Natsu, watch out!"

"Guah!"

The first red scorpion of the pack had stricken him down with his hooks, pinning his mantle to the ground.

"Get.. off!" Natsu struggled to free himself but the monster's tail was far too heavy and it was starting to strangle him. "S-Shit... Fire drag- ngh!"

"-gonslayer's roar!"

The blow made the growling scorpion reel back, if only for a few seconds. Natsu quickly got back on his feet and jumped on the wyvern's back.

"Thanks Zeref." He said as he and the dark mage high-fived.

Riding at the front, Mavis smiled at their antics before patting the wyvern on its head. "Time to go!"

Letting out a joyful growl, the flying beast flapped his three pairs of wings and once again took off above the vast canopy. Stranded on the cliff, the red scorpions could only watch in fury as their preys escaped in the sky.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

The grey wyverns, or wyverns of the desert were among the fastest creatures of the world. Born to fly, their little legs could only support them for a short amount of time and they were usually found far above the clouds. As Mavis told them, she had been very lucky to stumble on one of them, especially in the rainforest, so far from its natural habitat.

Natsu and Zeref weren't very surprised though. Their petite blonde friend was not only a fierce animal lover, she also had the luck of the devil. It was something they had learned not long after arriving in this world, and of which they were quite glad since it had already saved them many times.

The three of them were now flying in the direction of the desert, slowly leaving the humid forest of Sajara behind them. Natsu had exchanged places with Mavis -because she wanted Zeref's help to braid flower crowns- and he was now perched on the beast's neck, observing the landscape unroll under him. He rested his chin on the head of the wyvern and sighed.

"Elshari..." he whispered quietly.

The name of the world he had been sent to.

Seeing it from so high made him remember how foreign it was. So different from Earthland. The most difficult thing here, apart from the occasional monsters, was undoubtedly the weather. For the all the years he had been here, Natsu had yet to find a single place were the weather was somehow bearable. The cooler regions were nothing but freezing cold and anywhere else was scorching hot. The latter didn't bother him as much but it was either way too dry or far too humid.

Right now, they were heading to the east border of the Al-Fura desert, the largest desert of the continent, named after the country they were in. They would have to cross it entirely to reach the nearest human city. At their speed, it wouldn't take more than six or seven hours. A good improvement compared to the weeks it had taken by foot through deserted regions last time, but still long enough for them to start to feel bored.

Natsu absent mindedly held his left shoulder, thinking about the black crest resting under the fabric of his mantle. Almost seven years now, since the day he had awoken in this strange world. There hadn't been a day when he didn't think about Earth, his country, Fairy Tail, his friends, his partner. And Lucy.

The fire dragonslayer let out another uncharacteristic sigh and folded his arms under his head. He missed her so much. If he had known they would get separated so soon after they started dating, he would have asked her out immediately. Or better, he would have thought of another plan that didn't involve him being blasted off to another planet. Argh! It made him mad just to think about it!

"Natsu? Are you alright?"

The pink haired mage startled at Zeref's question and lift the head he had unconsciously started to bang on the wyvern's back.

"Eh? Oh yeah, I'm fine." He said with a little grin, scratching the back of his head in embarrassement. "Just thinking."

Mavis and Zeref nodded in understanding. Both of them already knew what was bothering their companion. "Cheer up, Nacchan." Mavis added kindly. "We'll be back soon."

"Yeah, you're right." He admitted, this time smiling for real.

Natsu owed a lot to his two friends. He didn't know what he would have done without them by his side. It was thanks to Mavis and her magic that he and Zeref had survived Acnologia's attack back then. He could still remember his shock when after freeing them from her Fairy Sphere, the little woman had introduced herself as the First Master of Fairy Tail.

And right after that, he discovered that he'd been sent to a parallel world.

Along with Zeref.

Who had gone through a personnality change.

And announced that he was a dragonslayer just like him.

"What are you laughing about now?" Said dragonslayer asked in a curious voice.

"Nothing." Natsu replied, snickering. "Just thinking about our first day in Elshari."

"Oh."

The thought also made Mavis and Zeref chuckle behind him. That particular day had been quite memorable. If only for the fact that they had nearly been killed twenty times in the span of a mere day. Elshari was a dangerous place indeed, especially for three green mages freshly deported from Earthland. It was one of the reason that had first prompted the two dragonslayer to stay and fight together. But as time passed and stories were told, the two of them rapidly became good friends. And with Mavis too, of course.

But even though they had gotten pretty much used to their life here, they still longed to see Earth again. Particularly Natsu and Mavis. Zeref didn't really care in which world he was living as long as his two companions were there. From day one to today, they didn't stopped looking for any way to return to Fairy Tail, traveling from north to south and from east to west in search of clues. But they never found anything. Until yesterday.

Natsu and Mavis nearly had a heart attack when they discovered that the eclipse they needed could only be seen thousands of kilometers away from Sajara. And they only had two weeks left to reach it. But fortunately, Elshari was a world full of magic, unlike Edolas, and they were told magic portals had been build in the forest a long time ago and that those could help them travel. Natsu had been searching for one of those when he came across that twitchy centipede.

Thanks the wyvern, all their problems were solved now and the three mages continued to chat happily as they flew over the desert.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O

Arrived at destination, the grey beast circled around a patch of dried grass and landed gently on the ground. The three mages jumped down and brushed their clothes to remove all the sand that had gotten stuck in the folds of their burnous (cloaks).

"Thanks Willy, you've been such a great help!" Mavis complimented him cheerfully and the huge beast seemed to purr in happiness when the blonde mage patted him.

Natsu and Zeref, though, were both showing the same bemused expression.

"W-Willy?"

"Yes, isn't it cute? It think he likes it." Mavis added as she beckoned the wyvern to lower his head so that she could crown him with flowers.

"Oh dear..."

Natsu facepalmed while Zeref wearily rolled his eyes. "Mavis-chan, how many times do I have to tell you to stop naming all the animals we come across? You get attached and then it becomes harder to let them go."

"So maybe we could keep him this time?" She half-asked, half-suggested. "Come on, Zecchan. I promise I'll take good care of him."

The two male mages sweatdropped when both the First Master of Fairy Tail and Willy the Wyvern started to give them the sad puppy-eye look.

Natsu put a hand on Zeref's shoulder. "I'm leaving that to you man." he whispered before slipping away.

"What? Wait Natsu, you little- ... Oh fine." The raven haired man sighed and turned to the two pleading pairs of eyes staring at him. Now, how was he going to sort out this mess?

O-o-o-o-O

Meanwhile, a snickering Natsu had made his way out there and walked to a natural promontory made of rocks. Observing the horizon, he managed to make out their destination in the sunset. Since attracting attention -and therefore problems- was the least thing they whised for, they had made Willy land out of town.

Rihad, the capital of Al-Fura and one of the biggest cities of this world. There, they would find all the things needed for their next journey. It would bring them a few kilometers away from the town, in a vast plain called Rihad-sha from where the eclispe would be fully visible. It was there that, seven years ago, they had entered Elshari. It was from there that they would now go back to their homeland.

Natsu glanced at the rising moon. Still pale and translucide in the golden sky, but already dominating the dim stars. No matter what, he would make it work and he would definitely see everyone again. Lucy, Happy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Gramps and all the others.

If it failed... Then he'd rather die than fail. It was his very last chance, because there wouldn't be any other eclispe in Elshari before three hundred years.

* * *

TBC...

And there you have it, a chapter from Natsu's point of view. I think it brought more questions than answers, but well, they'll come in due time too..  
Hope you liked it!

For those among you who use feets:

* 5m = 16ft  
** 10m = 33ft

*** imagine them wearing tuareg's clothing.

note: the names of the places in Eshari don't have any meaning, I just used them to give an ''oriental'' feeling to the scene, that's all...

See ya!


End file.
